


Answer to an Unspoken Question

by rebel_ren



Series: Drabbles Against Despair [32]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec finds his muse, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Vaguely old fashioned vibes, Writer's Block
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29834766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_ren/pseuds/rebel_ren
Summary: Alec was struggling to write. No matter how much he tried, the words wouldn't cooperate. And then, one day, he saw a man in the park, and everything changed.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Drabbles Against Despair [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666300
Comments: 10
Kudos: 64





	Answer to an Unspoken Question

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from this site ([link](https://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=writeprompt)): “It was April, the month of dreaming.”

“Not long now.”

That was what Alec had been telling himself for months. Soon, surely, this lack of inspiration would pass and he would be able to write once more. But time meandered on, and Alec’s well of words seemed to have run truly dry.

Somehow, it seemed appropriate that it was April, the month of dreaming, when Alec met his muse, though ‘met’ was rather a strong term, considering that Alec hadn’t the courage to actually approach the man. No, Alec simply watched from afar in wonder, trying to memorise everything about Him, scribbling down notes on the back of an old receipt he’d found in his wallet as he sat on a damp park bench, filled with more excitement than he’d felt in months.

Inspiration was always difficult to quantify, but what made a _person_ inspiring was more difficult still to express. To Alec, that didn’t matter at all. What mattered was that he had _words_ once more, jumbled and halting, rushing out too fast and then trickling painfully slow.

But they were _words,_ and that was all that mattered.

Well, perhaps not all. The man himself was… intriguing. Alluring. Alec felt… drawn to him in a way he couldn’t quantify or put his finger on. There was just… something about him.

Alec had first seen the man when Alec was walking through the park on his lunch break, and without conscious forethought, Alec found himself following the same path, the same behaviour the next day. And the next.

The man wasn’t always there, but sometimes, he was. On sunny days, he’d lie on the grass, loose-limbed and beautiful, his brown skin fairly glowing. Other times, he’d sit on a bench, engrossed in a thick-spined book.

And the sight of him never failed to inspire Alec to write. Much more than the back of a single receipt, Alec filled a full sheet of paper the next time, then continued on to a pocket notebook, then a full-sized one. It wasn’t until he scrawled his way to the end of a page, turned it over, and realised that this was the last remaining page in the notebook, that Alec realised… this might mean more than he’d thought. He adored notebooks, collected them by the dozen and savoured that fresh, new feeling as he started the first page of each one… but he very, very rarely finished one. There was always the draw of another! A clean, unwritten page beckoning to him! And without even realising it, Alec had written page after page after page about… life. About the things Alec thought about life. About his hopes and dreams. And yes, about this unknown man from the park.

Alec felt as though it was unfair of him to draw all this inspiration from someone without their knowledge or consent, so he forced himself to approach the man the next time they were both in the park.

The man was lying on the grass, his book open on his chest, his eyes closed.

“Excuse me?” Alec said, clearing his throat, feeling all kinds of awkward and timid.

The stranger opened his eyes, shading them with his hand as he looked up. He smiled when he saw Alec. “Oh, it’s you,” he said, sitting up and beckoning to Alec to sit down beside him.

“Me?” Alec asked, taking a seat. “You know me?”

“Not as such,” the man admitted, “but I’ve seen you around here many a time. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve made up a tale or two in my mind about you. You always seem to be writing, you see. I wondered whether you might be an author or a poet. Or possibly lovelorn and desperate, writing letter after letter to win your lover over!” he said enthusiastically.

Alec laughed, caught off guard by the man’s easy charm even more than his amusing suggestion. “I have no lovers to woo,” he confided. “But yes, I do write a great deal of late. That’s largely thanks to you, actually.”

“How so?” the man asked. He looked intrigued rather than frightened, so Alec took that as a good sign, drew a deep breath, and told him the entire story: how it had been hard to write again after moving so far away from those he knew and loved, how it had been difficult to feel at home in this strange new place, how the differences and adjustments and loneliness had put a stop to the flow of his words and ideas. And how a chance meeting in the park had unlocked them for reasons Alec could not express or understand.

When Alec was done, the man merely blinked at him for a long moment, then smiled softly. “That’s lovely,” he said quietly. “A really beautiful thing. I’m so glad that, in some small way, I was able to bring your words back. I am sorry, however, to hear of how long you’ve felt alone here. Maybe I could’ve helped with that sooner if I’d only introduced myself.” He smiled, bright and warm and beautiful, lighting up his face and eyes, and held out his hand. “Magnus Bane,” he said.

Alec _beamed,_ amazed that somehow this had gone well despite the odds. He shook Magnus’ hand. “Alec Lightwood,” he said. “I’m sorry I never found the bravery to talk to you, but… since I’ve managed not to scare you away with my confessions, I would very much like the chance to get to know you properly, Magnus.”

Magnus smiled back. “I would like that very much, Alec.”

Together, Magnus and Alec explored the city. Magnus took Alec to all his favourite spots, the ones that were only known by locals, the ones off the beaten path. Alec fell more in love with the city with each passing month, and it wasn’t long before he realised that he wasn’t _only_ falling for the city.

A year after their meeting, Alec lured Magnus to the park with the promise of a picnic, awaiting him with a red-and-white-checked gingham blanket and all manner of tasty treats. Alec had planned to wait, to last through a leisurely lunch and easy conversation, but he just couldn’t help himself. Magnus looked so handsome, so beautiful walking towards him, and Alec loved him so much that he couldn’t hold it all in. Plans be damned.

Alec got up, kissed Magnus, took his jacket, and told him to stay right there. Then, Alec got down on one knee and held out a ring box.

“You changed my life,” he said earnestly as Magnus clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes going wide. “Months and months before I ever knew your name. And every day since I met you properly has been absolutely, ridiculously, unbelievably wonderful. Getting to know this city with you, getting to know _you_ in the process… you know I haven’t much experience with romance,” Alec said, flushing. “But I don’t need experience to know that I want to spend my life with you.”

Magnus leant down and kissed Alec, gentle and sweet. “I don’t know if you actually asked a question in there,” he whispered as he pulled back. “But regardless, the answer is yes.”


End file.
